(i) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to flammable fluid fuelled heaters and, in particular, although not necessarily solely, gas fuelled heaters.
(ii) Description of the Prior Art
Traditional flammable fluid fuelled heaters such as gas fuelled heaters comprise a combustion chamber into which the flammable fluid is supplied and may be provided with an exhaust into the room into which the heater is housed. Such flueless units may be provided with catalytic converters forming a secondary combustion chamber above the primary combustion chamber to reduce the emissions in the exhaust. However, in trying to provide such units with an open front wall to provide an unobstructed view of the flames in accordance with a conventional fireplace, some difficulties might arise in minimising the size of that catalytic converter due to the large open front area for the drawing of air into the primary combustion unit increasing the overall throughput of the heater. A catalytic converter of reduced size causes a obstruction to the flow of air through the heater and this may lead to spilling of emissions directly from the primary combustion out through the open front of the unit and into the room into which the unit is housed. This can cause problems with such emissions reaching levels that are either unsafe or at least outside regulatory guidelines.
Another aspect of traditional fireplaces is attempts to provide a realistic artificial log assembly in the combustion chamber. There may be a preference for a primary combustion chamber and associated artificial log assembly which attempts to provide a visually larger fire than is physically present so that the overall size of the heater unit may be minimised by still providing a relatively large apparent fire area. Such traditional technology has included the provision of a mirror behind the artificial log assembly and primary combustion chamber. However, the reflected image in the mirror does not always provide a realistic appearance if there is a visually apparent division between the real image and the reflected image.